This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase. I only recommend items and services that I have personally used.

It's summertime here in the US and that's usually a time where families spend lots of time together doing really fun stuff. Are you doing anything special with your family this summer? We're not going anywhere - the two older boys are working at a summer camp and the youngest is in summer school. But we're going to do little things, here and there. Because before you know it, it will be back to school time. Time really does fly!

Speaking of heading back to school, if you've been thinking about working from home, the summer months are perfect for planning and researching how to do that in the fall months when the kiddos are back in school.

But let me first say this...

If you're a stay at home mom, I take my hat off to you. Seriously. Every day, you hold down your household, take care of your family (and in some instances, parents, too). You rarely get time to yourself and you still soldier on, putting others before yourself. That's some dedication right there.

But...

there might come a time when you need to/want to work at home. Maybe taking care of your family isn't as fulfilling as it used to be. Maybe you find yourself in a position where you have to bring in an income. Maybe you want to build a business, something you want to pass to your family. Maybe you just want to do something different. First off, that's okay. There's no need feeling guilty about wanting to be a work-at-home mom.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get down to business.

Like anything in life worth having, trying something new won't be easy. Making the transition from stay-at-home mom to a work-at-home mom can be scary. But you can make it less scary if you do a few things first. So here we go:

You've gotta talk to your spouse/significant other/family about making the transition.

Sit down and have an honest conversation with whoever you need to talk to about how you're feeling and what you want to do. In order for you to move forward, everyone important in your life has got to be on board or it's going to be an uphill battle. If your kids are old enough, discuss it with them too. Your working from home might mean dinner could be cereal or sandwiches while you work. I'm really not kidding about that. They may have to help out with more chores because you need the time to market your business. It's better that everyone know ups front what changes might affect them. Get their blessing first and you'll feel so much better.

You've gotta be honest with yourself about what you can and can't do.

I didn't do this when I started out and it resulted in a hot mess. Have a hard talk with yourself about what type of work you want to do. I know phone work is all the rage but seriously, can you truly do a good job at it if you've got a toddler at home during the day? Imagine trying to take or make calls and trying to "shush" your child. Not gonna work. If you have responsibilities like a child at home during the day or taking care of a loved one, save yourself the headache and honestly identify what will work for you. Maybe freelance writing. Or graphic design. Something that can be done when the baby's asleep or later in the evening when your house is quiet. You get the picture. Be honest.

You've gotta have the confidence that you can do this.

If you don't believe that you can manage working from home, who else will? As a mom, you've got mad skills that you use daily to manage your home that can easily be transferred to running a business. Most stay-at-home moms have a knack for organizing, a skill highly favored when it comes to working from home. Take some of those hard-earned skills and run with them. Planned an event at your kids' school? You've got event planning experience. Helped your pastor prepare a Powerpoint presentation? Boom! We'll go into how to package those skills to present to potential clients in a later post but for now, make a list of all of those super duper transferrable skills you've got. And trust me, you've got 'em! Run with them and turn it into a money-making work at home machine. Create a resume that highlights these skills and start applying on job boards. You can do it - rah rah! You've got a cheerleader here (raising my hand).

"But I don't have any experience. I don't know where to start looking for a job."

Okay, stop right there. Get rid of the defeatist attitude. That's not going to help you -- at all. Fear will stop you dead in your tracks if you let it. If you truly don't know how to get started or you're afraid (that's okay), try volunteering your awesome virtual assistant services or take a gig like transcription. And if you are truly stuck and can't figure out what types of services you can offer, you'll want to download this free guide. Out of 150 plus recommendations, I can bet you'll come away with at least one idea.

Some other resources you might want to check out to jumpstart your work from home journey:

The VA Networking site is one of the first websites I Googled when I launched my business and I've been blessed to have been a speaker at several conferences. Tawnya is a well-known name in the virtual assistant industry and she's got loads of information you can soak up this summer to get you ready for fall, including a really active forum.

Take a course like the one over at VA Classroom where you can learn how to become a money-makin' virtual assistant in 30 days. Hey, if you start now, you'll be up and running when the kids go back to school, yeah? Sign up here.

Learn a new skill, like Pinterest. Pinterest is a huge traffic source for lots of online business owners (me, too!) and if you can master any and everything Pinterest, you'll be one busy bee. And you're probably on Pinterest anyway, right, pinning stuff like household hacks, back-to-school ideas and crockpot recipes? Why don't you get paid for it? Kristin Larsen has a free Pinterest prep workbook where you can practice on your own Pinterest account before trying it on clients. It's pretty cool - I used it on my own account and I now offer Pinterest management services. Grab your copy here.

Test drive some tools before committing. Working from home requires lots of tools. The great thing about many of them is there are tutorials on how to use them. And many are free! Cool! Download this free list of tools for new virtual assistants and train yourself on a few in your spare time. That way, when fall arrives, you'll be a step ahead of the game.

A side hustle might be the perfect solution! Do a little work here, a little work there. Work around your schedule and still be there for your family. Sound like a winning combination? Grab this guide to get started.

So, there you have it. You're not in this by yourself. You can do this! Make your summer a productive one.

Take care and see you soon!

Before you go, make sure to head over to the freebies and resources page for information to help you in your journey.

A blog post about how to launch your new virtual assistant website, including access to Wordpress and Squarespace tutorials, a website planner and a roundup of more than 20 virtual assistant websites for inspiration.

You’re starting out as a virtual assistant and you see terms thrown around that you have no idea what they mean! In this post, we’ll talk about 7 common terms you’ll see in your work as a virtual assistant and what they mean. #virtualassistant #workfromhome

Is launching a virtual assistant business on your bucket list of things to do? In this post, learn how you can start quickly and be well on your way to making money from home. #virtualassistant #workfromhome #stayathomemom

Regina's passion is helping a new generation of virtual assistants launch their new business or take their business to the next level. When she's not working at the local ministry, blogging or tinkering with Squarespace, she enjoys spending time with her family, watching "Downton Abbey" to the point that it irritates her boys and people-watching from her front porch.